Valve retainer



Nov. 20, 1945. R. LEPPLA VALVE RETAINER Filed Nov. 13, 194s 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR v Rudolph Leppla www f- )mi ATTORNEYS NOV. 20, R LEPPLA VALVE RETAINER Filed Nov. 13, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NVENTOR m v1 @l L h 1P a d. u lE Vl B Patented Nov. 20, 1945 2,389,522 u VALVE RETAINER Rudolph Leppla, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to The Bettendorf Company, Bettendorf, Iowa, a corporation of Maryland Application November 13, 1943, Serial No. 510,245

2 claims.

This invention relates to pressure regulating valves employed in railway car air brake systems and more particularly to an anchoring connection adapted to secure such a valve to a railway car wall.

The pressure retaining valves of a railway car air brake system are attached to ends of pipes connected to the brake cylinder pressure system and extend to the ends of the railway cars and upwardly topnear the tops of the end walls thereof. The pipe, with its valve attached to its end, is ordinarily held in place by fastening the Valve to the face of the car wall. Pressure retaining Valves ol standard construction are provided with integral laterally extending lugs that are adapted to be fastened directly to the car wall or to a supporting bracket attached to the car wall by means of bolts extending through holes in the outer ends of the lugs. These lugs are subject to breakage because their length must be sufcient to afford free access to the bolts and because outer ends of the valve attaching lugs are weakened by the bolt holes. The lugs are often broken in service and such breakage makes it necessary to scrap other wise serviceable valves.

The present inventionhas for an object to provide an adapter bracket for anchoring the pressure retaining valve that will permit a variation in the vertical positioning of the valve and which requires` no attaching bolts.

A further object is to provide a connection that places less strain on the valve lugs and which will permit the use of shorter and stiffer lugs.

The invention also has for an object to provide an attaching bracket that may be substituted for brackets now in use and that is adapted to be used for anchoring valves which have one or both attaching lugs broken.

With theabove and other objects in view, the invention may be said to comprise the valve anchoring device as illustrated in the accompanying drawings hereinafter described and particularly set forth in lthe appended claims together with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary front elevation showing a pressure retaining valve and the pipe to which the valve is attached mounted upon the end wall Aof a railway car.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the valve and valve anchoring device showing the same on a scale larger than in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a section taken on the line indicated atv 3--3 in Fig. 2.

Figure 4 shows the valve and bracket in side elevation and the car wall in section.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the adapter bracket.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of an adapter bracket of slightly modified construction.

Figure '7 is front elevation showing a different form of pressure regulating valve and a modified form of valve anchoring bracket.

Figure 8r shows the valve and bracket in side elevation and the car wall in section.

Figure 9 is a front elevation of the bracket 'shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

Figure 10 is a top plan view of the bracket.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, a railway car I0 has a pressure retaining valve II attached to an end wall thereof and to this valve is attached a pipe I2 that extends to the triple valve associated with the brake cylinders. The pressure retaining valve II, herein shown, is of the double pressure type and has an operating handle I3 which, in its normal position, permits air to be exhausted from the brake cylinders but which is adjustable to two other positions, in one of which a low pressure is retained in the cylinders, the retained pressure in either case serving to retard acceleration while the train is traveling down a long grade. The body of the valve II is provided with attaching lugs I4 projecting from opposite sides thereof, the rear faces of the lugs being in the same plane and flush with the rear face of the valve body to provide a fiat bearing surface for engagement with a car wall or with a supporting bracket attached to the wall. The valve herein shown is of the standard construction now in general use and the lugs I4 thereof are shown provided with the usual bolt holes I6 adjacent their outer ends.

The present invention, however, instead of bolts utilizes an adapter bracket for anchoring the valve to the car wall. The adapter bracket is in the form of a one piece channel shaped casting or stamping having a body or web portion II provided with inwardly offset end portions I8 that arel adapted to be attached to the car wall by suitable means such as rivets I9. The web I1 may be provided with a longitudinal slot 20 intermediate the end portions I8 to lighten the bracket. The bracket has side fianges 2| intermediate the attached end portions and these flanges are provided with upwardly extending retaining arms 22 that are spaced from the web I1 a distance corresponding to the thickness of the lugs I4 and spaced apart a distance corresponding to the thickness of the valve body adjacent the lugs |4 so that the retaining arms 22 provide slots into which the lugs I4 may be lowered and bear against the outer faces of the lugs I4 to hold the valve against the Web |1 of the bracket and also engage with opposite sides of the valve body to hold the valve against lateral movements.

Since it is diiiicult to accurately regulate the length of the pipe to which the valve is attached,

it is desirable that the valve anchoring means beY such as to permit a variation in the vertical position of the valve on the car wall.

The adapter bracket of the present invention provides slots in which the lugs I4 of the valve may have vertical sliding movement to permit the valve to occupy the position of vertical adjustment determined by the length of the vertically extending portion of the pipe carrying the valve. The arms 2-2 bear against the outer faces of the lugs I4 closely adjacent the body of the va-lve Vso that the bracket is adapted to firmly anchor a valve even though the outer end portions of one or both of the attaching lugs are broken off. By reason of the frictional engagement of the retaining arms 22 with the valve body and flanges, the valve is snugly held in various positions of vertical adjustment. The adapter bracket is thus adapted -to replace the bolted fastening devices on cars now in service where the retaining valve lugs have been broken, the adapter bracket providing a rm anchor for the valve if enough of the lugs I4 remain on the Valve to enter slots Within the retaining arms 22.

The likelihood of damage to the valve lugs in serviceis Vg-reatly reduced by the device of the present invention because of the fact that any strain imposed upon the lugs engaged by the adapter bracket is Vapplied closely adjacent the valve body so that there is little likelihood of breaking a lug held by the bracket.

1 When used with new equipment, the adapter bracket of the present invention makes possible the use of valves with short and strong attach- 'ing lugs, since the lugs need only be of a length suicient to underlie the arms 22.

In Figure 6 of the drawings a slightly modified adapter bracket is shown. This bracket has a nat web portion 25 and side anges 26. The web has end portions 21 projecting beyond the flanges 26 for attachment to a car wall and the flanges 26 have vertical slots 28 open at their upper ends to receivev the lugs I4 of the valve body, slots 28 providing at the outer sides thereof retaining arms 29 that 'engage with the Vouter faces of the lugs and the side faces vf the valve body.

On Figs'. '7 to 10 of the drawings the invention is shown applied to a pressure regulating valve of the detachable type in which the valve body has a valve carrying section 30 detachably connected to an attaching section 3| that is connected to the upper end of a pipe 32. The valve carrying section 30 and the attaching section 3| have laterally projecting'iianges 33 that receive bolts 34 for detachably securing the sections together.

The attaching section 3| is provided with integral laterally extending lugs 35 by means of which it may be anchored to the car Wall I0. The provision of the attaching section connected to the pipe and car Wall enables the Valve carrying section to be removed and replaced Without disturbing the pipe or wall connections.

vThe adapter bracket of the present invention may be employed to anchor the section 3I, but,

because of the location of the projecting flanges 33 adjacent the under side of the lugs 35, it is necessary to mount the bracket in upside down position on theY wall as shown in Fig. 8. As shown in Figs. '1 `to 10, the bracket is of channel form with a web portion, 36 attached to the car wall and side iianges 31. The side flanges 31 are slotted to receive the 'lugs 35 and provide retaining arms 38 engageable with the opposite sides of the section 3| and outer faces of the lugs 35. The arms 38 are preferably yextended past the inner portions of the flanges 31 and flared to provide end portions 39 adapted to straddle the attaching flanges 33. After the attaching section 3| has been secured to the pipe and inserted in the anchoring bracket, the end portion 39 of the retaining arms may be peened over the edges of the :iianges 33 of the section 3| as shown in Fig. '1. f

It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specific devices herein shown and described for purposes of illustration, may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. Means for attaching to a railway car wall a pressure retaining valve having a body and integral attaching lugs extending from opposite sides of the Valve body even when one or both *Y lugs are broken, comprising a one piece adapter 40 bracket inthe form of a channel adapted to receive the valve body, 'said bracket having a Web adapted to be 'secured t'o said wall and side flanges substantially at right angles to said web and having arms 'extending in substantially parallel relation to said web and spaced outwardly from said web and having side faces `adapted to engage with the opposite sidesI of the valve body and inner edges engageable with the outer faces of said lugs.

2. Means for attaching to a railway car Wall a pressure retaining valve having a body and integral attaching lugs extending from opposite sides of the valve body Aeven when one or both lugs are broken, comprising a one piece adapter bracket in the form of a lchannel adapted to receive the valve body, said bracket having a web a'da'pted to be secured to said, Wall and side flanges substantially at right angles to said web and having arms extending in substantially parallel relation to said 'web and spaced outwardly from said Web and having side faces adapted to engage with the opposite `sides of the valve body and inner edges engageable with the outer faces of said lugs, said arms having flaring end portions adapted to be bent around projecting portions of the valve body. V A

RUDOLPH LEPPLA. 

